


The Haunting of Hill House One Shots

by esmehoe



Category: The Haunting of Hill House - Fandom
Genre: Childhood Trauma, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Fluff, Gen, Possible smut, established relationships - Freeform, sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-07
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2020-01-06 08:33:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 14,477
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18384809
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/esmehoe/pseuds/esmehoe
Summary: One shots of the Crain family because they deserved better.





	1. Chapter 1

It was mid June when Hugh got the call that there was an old house in the rural countryside of Boston that was available to be worked on. It would a summer project for him and Liv, a place where they could spend the summer as a family.

It was a wide property and had more than enough space for the kids to run and play. And the prices that were being offered for the job made it seem like a godsend.

"Thanks Roger i'll give you a call back once i've run it by Liv but I don't see her turning down the offer." Hugh spoke into the phone.

"Alright, take it easy, bye bye." Spoke the elderly man on the other end of the phone.

Hugh hung up the phone and started to make his way towards the office he shared with Liv.

She'd been sketching out plans for their forever house for the past three weeks. He's never seen her so passionate about a project before, and this new offer could potentially make that project a reality.

He gently knocked on the slightly ajar door as he poked his head inside, not wanting to disturb his wife's concentration.

Liv's head shot up at the sound of him knocking and smiled as her eyes fell upon her husband.

"You busy in here?" Hugh asked with a smile as he slowly walked towards his awaiting wife. 

"Just brainstorming away." Liv smiled up at him from her seat behind the wooden desk. 

"I can see that, it's really coming along huh?" Hugh asked as he moved to sit next to her in the chair adjacent to hers. 

"Yeah, the ideas just keep coming to me, one after the other, flooding my brain like a waterfall." Liv explained as she gazed down at the mess of blueprints occupying the large wooden desk.

"I got a call about a offer on a house to flip, over in Boston. A big one, one of those mansions from the early 1900's, uh Hill House I think it was called. They got staff already hired and everything. We'd only really have to be there for the summer, eight weeks at most." Hugh rambled. 

"That's amazing but what about the kids? Would we have enough time to get them ready for school next year?" Liv asked.

"More than enough time." Hugh answered, taking her delicate hand in his own much larger one, bringing it up to his lips to leave a kiss there.

"How much are they offering?" She asked as she watched him stroke the soft skin of her palm. 

"More than enough to build our forever house." Hugh smiled as he lifted her into his lap, causing her to laugh her beautiful laugh that sounded like heaven to his ears.

"Oh is that right?" She asked rhetorically as she wrapped her arms around his neck, stroking a hand along the side of his face. 

"Yes it is. They said we could start as soon as the kids are finished with school." Hugh answered.

"Well I guess we should get packing then." Olivia said as she stood up off of Hugh's lap and headed towards the door of the office leaving Hugh to gaze at her as her long summer dress flowed elegantly around her long legs.

* * *

 

Later that day once Hugh finalized the deal on the house, him and Olivia got to packing. The kids would be finished with school in less than a week and they wanted to be on their way to their new home as soon as possible.

A few minutes later a big yellow school bus pulled up in front of their house and a pack of five dark haired children bounced out. 

Luke and Nell darted forward, racing each other to the front door causing Theo to roll her eyes.

Steve and Shirley waved goodbye to their friends on the bus and caught up with the rest of their siblings.

The five of them bursted through the front door, setting their school bags on the floor and walked further inside to see their parents walking down the stairs to greet them.

"Hi Mommy!" Luke and Nell exclaimed in unison as they threw themselves into her waiting arms as she littered their faces with kisses causing them to squeal and squirm. 

"Hello my loves, how was school?" Liv asked the youngest of her children.

"Good, today we got to let our pet butterflies go! We brought them outside and we got to watch them fly away into the clouds!" Luke explained to his mother with wide eyes.

"Well that sounds fun, did you have fun too Nell?" Liv asked her daughter.

"Yeah! Me and Luke got to let them go togetherand everything!"

"I'm glad you had fun my darling." Liv said as she kissed Nell's head.

"What about you Theo? Anything exciting happen today?" Hugh asked as he walked over to Steve and Shirley, stealing a cookie from Steves hand, causing him to roll his eyes as he suppressed a smile at his fathers attempt to be funny.

"No." Theo answered from her seat at the bar stool, spinning herself back and forth. "We got assigned our summer reading, I have to read some book called 'The Lottery'." Theo said in a monotone voice. 

"Oh I read that in school, yeah it's about that-" 

"Town that kills people to keep the economy going? Yeah it's fucked." Theo said as she cut off her Dad.

"Language!" Yelled Nell, causing Theo to roll her eyes once again.

"You're sister is right." Liv said with a slight laugh as she looked up at her husband who was attempting to suppress his own laughter.

"Sorry." Said Theo half heartedly as Liv brushed a hand through Theo's dark hair, knowing she wasn't one for all the hugs and kisses she usually gave out freely.

"So we've got some news gang." Hugh announced, catching all the kids attention.

"What is it?" Shirley asked curiously.

"We're moving to Boston for the summer, there's this big old house that your mother and I are going to be working on for the summer." Hugh explained.

"Do I get my own room?" Theo asked.

"Uh well yes." Hugh laughed.

"There's a huge yard, plenty of room for you guys to play, and you can find a whole bunch of new things to picture hey Shirl?" Hugh asked his daughter with a smile. 

"Y-yeah, that'd be cool." Shirley said perking up at the prospect of getting to use her new camera that she'd been gifted the Christmas before.

"How long will we be there for? Will we have to go to school there next year?" Steve asked. 

"No Sweetheart, we should only be there for a couple weeks and then once we sell it we'll finally be able to get started on our home, our real home." Liv explained with an ethereal smile.

"The forever house?" Asked Luke innocently as he looked up at his mother with admiration. 

"Yes Love, our forever house. And we'll never have to move again, we'll all be together. Forever." Liv explained as she smiled down at all of her children, seeing the excitement in their young innocent faces. 

"Well let's get packing guys! We've got no time to lose!" Hugh exclaimed as he walked over to the twins, scooping them up and slinging them each over a shoulder, causing them to scream with laughter.

'This is gonna be good.' Olivia thought to herself as she watched her family beam with excitement. It nearly brought tears to her eyes to see them so happy together. 

That's all she's ever wanted, to see them happy. 

Happy andtogether.

'This is gonna be good.' She thought again. 

She took a deep breath and smiled before she started up the stairs in the direction of her family. 

She knew this was gonna be good.

She was sure of it.


	2. Chapter 2

It had only been three days since the Crain family had moved into Hill House.

Three days was all it took for Nell to form the solid opinion that this house, out of all the homes that her family had resided in, was her least favourite.

She knew her siblings agreed even though the most they would ever give her was a sparse shrug.

Theo was always complaining about how cold it was and Shirley's sleep talking was almost every night now.

Nell could practically feel the fear radiating off of Luke when they were in the same room.

The house was creepy in the day.

But at night.

Alone.

In the dark.

It was a different story.

Nell would sit up in her bed. Waiting. She wasn't quite sure what she was waiting for, but she knew it was coming, and it wasn't friendly.

The tall dark walls of her shared bedroom seemed to close in on her, as if they were trying to swallow her whole.

She looked over towards Luke's bed that sat adjacent to hers.

Luke was sleeping peacefully and she didn't want to wake him, but she also didn't want to be alone.

Not in the dark.

"Luke?" Nell called softly.

She was met with silence. 

She hated the silence, she was used to the sounds of a noisy house filled with laughter and loud footsteps of children running up and down stairs.

But not at Hill House.

Hill House insisted on utter and complete silence.

And Nell hated it.

"Luke?" Nell called a bit louder, comfort flowing through her as she saw her brother start to stir awake.

"Nellie? What's wrong?" Luke asked confusingly, still not fully awake.

"I'm scared." Nell answered simply with a pout.

"There are bad things in this house, they live in the walls." Nell said.

"It's okay Nellie, it's just a bad dream, just a little spill." Luke said in an effort to comfort as he placed his glasses on his head, his eyes seemingly growing twice their size.

Nell shot her eyes around the room, inspecting each corner and shadow.

Nell sought comfort in her brothers words, she nodded her head at her brother as they both ducked under the covers of their warm beds.

And then she heard it.

Whimpering.

Her first instinct was to check on Luke, but as she looked over she saw him sleeping peacefully, clutching his soft brown teddy bear that matched her own.

But the whimpering didn't stop. 

She didn't want to look.

She knew it would be there.

The bad thing. 

She slowly turned her head, her heart palpitated as if it was going to jump out of her chest.

And then she saw it.

The dark whimpering figure.

The knotted hair.

The quivering bottom lip.

The pale flesh with a purple hue that seemed to spread an icy cold shiver down her spine.

But it was her neck.

It was as if her head was detached from her body, sticking outward.

It was like-

A bent neck lady.

Nell didn't know what else to do other than scream so that is what she did.

She screamed harder than she ever had before, so loud that if she weren't distracted by the looming figure in front of her bead, she might've been afraid that she'd break a window.

She screamed and screamed, her eyes shut tight and her small hands over her ears to block out the equally blood curdling scream that the dark ominous creature before her was emitting.

If felt like a lifetime before she felt the strong comforting hands of her father lift her tiny body into his safe arms.

"Nell! Nell Honey you're okay." She heard her mother repeating as she brought a hand down to brush her daughters long hair behind her ears and wipe away her tears.

"It was standing there! It was right there!" Nellie wailed.

"What was Honey?" Liv asked.

But all Nell could do was hide her face in her fathers chest and continue to whimper.

Hugh shot Liv a look to which she just nodded her head.

Hugh helped Nell into Liv's arms, letting her carry their youngest daughter to their bedroom.

Hugh looked over to find Luke sitting up in bed with his eyes brimming with tears and his three eldest children standing in the doorway; obviously awoken by their little sisters high pitched cries.

"It's okay Pal, your sister just had a bad dream." Hugh explained to Luke as he helped him back under the blankets.

"She was really scared though." Luke said in a worried voice as he looked up to his dad as if he had all the answers. 

"It was just a bad dream, we all get them, she's with your mother now and she'll be just fine." Hugh said comfortingly.

"Promise?" Luke asked his father.

"I promise, now you get to sleep, it's late." Hugh said as he turned to his other three children that still resided at the door.

"You guys too, get to sleep, Nellie's fine." He said as he gave them all a comforting smile and a pat on the head.

"Night Dad." Said Shirley as she walked over to embrace her father.

"Night Honey." He answered.

"Night Dad." Said Theo and Steve in unison, both making their way back to their bedrooms.

"Goodnight." Hugh said for the final time as he made his way back to his own bedroom.

Hugh walked in to find his wife cradling little Nellie in her arms as the child continued to whimper.

It wasn't uncommon for Nellie to have nightmares, she's had them since the moment she became aware of the fact that there was even something out there in the world to be afraid of.

No, nightmares were not uncommon for Nellie, but this one, Hugh could see had her shaken up more than ever.

"Daddy, did you see her?" Nell asked as she saw her father enter the master bedroom.

"No Honey, it was just a bad dream right? It's all over now." Hugh tried to reason with his daughter as he crawled into bed along with them.

"It wasn't a dream, I was awake, I heard her, she was screaming so loud and she wouldn't stop." Nell whimpered, tucking  her head into her mother's chest.

"But she's gone now right?" Liv asked in an attempt to reassure her daughter.

Nell slowly nodded, not quite convinced.

"But I don't wanna go back there, I wanna stay here Mommy." Nell said in a slight whine as she shot her mother the best puppy dog eyes she could muster.

"I know Button, you don't have to go back, not for tonight at least." Said Liv as she brushed Nell's hair back behind her ears.

"Come on now, you need to get some sleep, it's way past your bedtime." Liv said as she lifted the covers in a offer to let Nellie crawl beneath them.

Once Nellie was situated between her parents in their bed she instantly felt calmness wash over her. Her head rested upon her mother's chest as her father turned to shut off the light.

"Goodnight young ladies." Hugh spoke into the darkness in a singsong voice causing them both to giggle.

"Night Daddy." Nellie responded with a smile on her face.

Not a care in the world about the bent neck lady.

Nothing bad could reach her here.


	3. Chapter 3

It had been a long week for Olivia.

The twins had just turned three and all the kids were still wired with sugar from their birthday party.

They were in the process of moving out of their current home to a new one in Atlanta.

They wouldn't be there for long but that didn't make the moving process any less stressful.

Thank God she had Hugh.

She swore without him, her thoughts would let her wander away into an unknown land, so far away from this buzzing world that surrounded them.

He kept her grounded.

Her line.

Throughout this busy week, she's felt herself missing him more and more with each passing day. Even though he was by her side through every minute of it.

She didn't know why she was acting so clingy.

Maybe she was about to get her period.

Maybe it was the moon.

She honestly didn't care what it was, all she knew was that in the past week the only moments alone with her husband were when they were asleep.

And that just wouldn't suffice for much longer.

After putting the kids to bed she found Hugh in the kitchen, washing the rest of the dishes from dinner.

Hugh turned his head at the sound of her footsteps to see his wife wearing that dark blue velvet robe that he loved so much.

"The kids all asleep?" He asked as Olivia came up behind him, wrapping her arms around his waist.

"Mhm." She hummed, her face pressed against his shoulder blade.

"I'm almost done here, then we can head upstairs." Said Hugh.

"I'll help." Liv said eagerly, wanting to get this chore done as quickly as humanly possible.

They spent the next few minutes in casual conversation as they washed and dried dishes, talking about the kids and the new house, their hips nonchalantly bumping against one another as they spoke.

They were always so good at this, being a partnership, in every aspect of their lives, even when it came to something as basic as washing dishes. From the very beginning of their relationship, they fit together like two puzzle pieces and as they grew together, they acquired five new puzzle pieces along the way.

"Get a lot of planning done for the new house today?" Hugh asked as Liv passed behind him, running a hand along his back.

"Yeah, still gotta add some small things to the blueprints for the ground floor but besides that, you should be able to start working as soon as we step foot in that place Mr. Crain." Liv answered as she wrapped her arms around him for the second time.

"You've been drinking or something? You've been awfully affectionate today Mrs. Crain." Hugh asked sarcastically as he continued to dry the last few dishes.

"I just miss you! Can I not hug my husband anymore?" Liv laughed into his back where her head was resting.

"Oh Honey, you can hug your husband anytime you like." Hugh spoke in an old school voice as he turned to face Liv, bringing his hands down to her waist to tickle her, causing her to erupt in laughter.

"Hugh! St-stop! The kids! Shh!" Liv choked out in between laughs.

"Sorry, sorry, that wasn't nice." Hugh said with slight pout as his hands calmly rested themselves on her waist as she caught her breath.

Olivia could only roll her eyes as she attempted to suppress a growing smile.

"I miss you too Love." Hugh said after a moment of silence, moving his hands down onto Liv's hips as he leaned down to give her a kiss.

"It's been a hectic week." Said Liv as she ran her fingers down the back of Hugh's neck.

"Yes it has, but still a good one." Said Hugh as he brought her closer, holding her firmly against him.

"Always a good one." Said Liv as she reached up to kiss her husband.

It didn't take long for their sweet innocent kisses to grow heated, the stress of the week catching up to them and they needed to get it off their shoulders.

"We should probably go upstairs." Olivia whispered as Hugh left a trail of kisses up and down her neck, paying close attention to her jawline, waiting for the tell tale sign of her pleasure when she would tug on the hair at the back of his neck.

Hugh only grumbled incoherently into her neck, grasping at her soft hips as he picked her up and placed her up upon the counter top.

Quickly making himself comfortable in between her long legs, her robe not succeeding at keeping her unexposed.

"Hugh." Liv said firmly, placing a hand on his chest to get his full attention.

"Yeah?" He asked, his eyes darting forward to where her robe fell open at her chest.

"Hugh, look at me." Liv said, placing her hands on the sides of his face to bring his line of view to her own.

"We need to go upstairs, the kids could hear us." Liv spoke clearly so his brain would process her words.

"Realistically, us going upstairs would only bring us closer to the kids which would make it easier for them to hear us." Hugh said rationally.

"But the kids know our room is off limits, any one of them could walk down here any second and I don't think they would appreciate to see Dad screwing Mom on the kitchen counter next to where they do arts and crafts." Liv said causing Hugh to pause for a moment.

"Yeah you're right." He answered as he scooped her up in his arms and proceeded to carry her up the stairs in the direction of their bedroom.

They passed their children's bedrooms, making sure to stay as quiet as possible.

Once they reached their shared bedroom, Hugh opened the door, cringing at the loud creaks it made, looking back at Olivia who was biting her hand to keep herself from laughing.

Once they were inside and had successfully closed their door without waking any of the little Crains, Hugh scooped up Olivia for the second time that night and threw her over his shoulder causing her to squeal.

"Hugh! Put me down!" She laughed.

He lightly tossed her onto their bed, her hair cascading around her head like a beautifully dark halo.

"I love you Mrs. Crain." Hugh said as he took a moment to admire his wife who was laying so temptingly in front of him, giving him the samelook that landed them with five dark haired angels.

"Show me." She said simply in a small voice, faking innocence.

Hugh could only smirk.

What did he do to deserve this goddess of a woman?

Hugh crawled onto the the bed and hovered over Olivia, her legs naturally opening to him to bring him as close as possible.

Hugh brushed a tendril of soft hair away from her face as he leaned down to kiss his wife.

Olivia wrapped her arms around his neck as she hummed against his mouth.

Their kisses grew heated for a second time.

Olivia latched her legs around his hips as he began leaving warm kisses along her jawline, her head tilted to the side to offer him more space for his kisses that she loved so much.

Olivia trailed her hands down his chest in between them to grab at the hem of his shirt, tugging on it and mumbling incoherently about wanting it off.

"Off Hugh." She whined when he didn't listen the first time.

Hugh sat up with a smirk on his face as he saw the pout that his wife was giving him.

"Patience is a virtue. You taught me that." Said Hugh as he tossed his discarded shirt to the side.

"I don't have the time to be patient." Said Liv as she extended her arms up to make grabby hands at him, signalling she wanting him back down closer to her.

"We've got all the time in the world Love." Said Hugh as he dived back down to Liv's awaiting mouth.

The room was filled with soft hums and sighs as they basked in the moment of finally being in each other's arms for the first time in what felt like forever when really it was barely a week.

Olivia and Hugh never worked well with much distance in between them.

Olivia was once again growing impatient.

She pushed against Hugh's chest causing him to break apart from their kiss and partially sit up, giving her the opportunity to flip them over and situate herself in his lap.

"That's better." Liv said slightly out of breath.

She quickly untied the robe that was already failing to stay closed, her jet black lace bra peeking through.

Hugh ducked his head down to leave a soft kiss on the top of each of her breasts, the action seeming oddly sweet and completely innocent, an act of pure love and appreciation.

Hugh pulled the robe open the last bit and gingerly peeled it off Olivia's shoulders, grasping at the soft warm flesh of her waist, pulling her up his lap even more so their chests  were touching.

Hugh was looking at her with such love.

But Liv was impatient and greedy when it came to Hugh, she didn't want to be sweet right now.

Liv placed both hands on the sides of his face and smashed their lips together, their chests pressing together.

Hugh's hands moved down to clutch her hips as he felt her start to move, having to remind himself to breathe, fifteen years with Liv and he still got carried away.

"Mmm." Liv hummed against Hugh's lips as she ground her hips down into his, his strong hands guiding her movements.

"Honey." Liv sighed as Hugh once again started trailing sloppy kisses against her neck as her movements sped up on his lap.

With one hand Hugh started unclasping her bra as the other made it's way farther south from her circling hips, reaching his way inside her lacy black panties.

"Oh." Liv gasped as she felt Hugh's fingers meet her most sensitive spot.

His fingers sliding through her folds to find the slippery evidence of her arousal.

Hugh couldn't help the smug smile that took over his face.

"Alright big shot don't get too confident." Liv said with fake annoyance as she felt his cocky smirk against her neck.

He merely continued to douse his wife in kisses.

His hand finally unclasped and ridded her of her bra.

His other more mischievous hand started exploring in between her thighs.

"Hugh." Liv breathed as her hand clutched the back of his neck, slightly tugging on his hair.

His mouth found it's way to hers, swallowing her gasps as his experienced fingers found that wonderful bundle of nerves that made her sing beautiful songs just for him.

Her hips started moving in time with his hands, her chest rising and falling with sighs and gasps as his fingers sped up the torturous little circles he was gifting her with.

"More Hugh." Liv whined as she tugged on his hair once again.

"Shh." He whispered against her cheek, trying to warn her to keep quiet, knowing that she would become too lost to care if he didn't remind her.

"Mmm." She whined again when his fingers stopped moving in between her legs, her hips bucking against his hand to regain the feeling that she had moments ago. 

"If I didn't know any better I would assume you hadn't had any attention in months." He said sarcastically.

"Feels like it." Said Liv with a relieved sigh as his fingers started moving again.

"It hasn't even been a week." He reminded her.

"Don't act like i'm the only one who needs this right now." She gasped out in ragged breaths as Hugh pushed a finger into her warm entrance.

"I would never Baby." Hugh whispered.

"Ohh, Hugh more." Liv moaned.

At her command Hugh added a second finger.

"Mhm." Liv moaned as she nodded her head, grasping his wrist.

Hugh could watch her like this all day, face flushed, bottom lip caught between her teeth in an attempt to keep quiet as she moved her hips in desperate little circles on top of him.

Hugh added a third finger as he used his thumb to circle her bundle of nerves.

"Honey. Oh." Liv gasped as her head fell backwards.

Hugh knew she was close, her back arching, her walls fluttering around his fingers, her hands clutching at him as if scared she'd fall apart as pleasure overflowed her.

"Hugh, don't stop, plea- oh. Please. I'm so close." Liv rambled as her hips bucked against his hand.

"I know Love, i've got you." Hugh whispered into her ear.

He always knew what to say to send her over the edge.

Liv spasmed around his fingers, falling against his chest, biting his shoulder to suppress her noises of immense pleasure.

She stayed just like that for awhile, catching her breath and waiting for the fog of her orgasm to clear.

"You good?" Hugh asked as Liv lifted her head up to look at him, his hand rubbing soothing circles onto her back.

"Yes. I'm very good." Liv said with a dazed smile.

"I'm glad." Hugh laughed at her overly calm expression.

Liv pushed him backwards to lay down against the bed as she ridded herself of her wet panties.

She quickly straddled his hips again as she began to unbutton his pants.

"You're very overdressed Mr. Crain." She said as she held eye contact with him as she rid him of his pants.

"I apologize Mrs. Crain." Said Hugh with mock sincerity.

"I suppose you're forgiven." Said Olivia as Hugh leaned up to capture her in his arms, bringing her laughing figure down to lay with him. 

"Shh." Hugh whispered for the second time.

"Sorry." Liv whispered as she pushed her nose against his causing him to smile.

"Trust me I did not make up that rule. If it were up to me i'd listen to your beautiful little sounds all day." Said Hugh as he nuzzled her neck.

"Hmm." Liv hummed in contentment. 

This was heaven.

She was sure of it.

"So are you going to bang your wife now or?" Liv asked sarcastically.

"And who says romance is dead?" Hugh shot back.

"It's very much alive My Love." Said Liv as she smiled up at him as he pulled her underneath him.

Hugh responded with a possessive kiss as his hands pulled her firmly against him.

"My wife." He mumbled against her lips causing her to smile into the kiss.

Fifteen years and he never got tired of saying those words.

He positioned himself at her entrance as she locked her legs around his waist.

"You ready?" His asked with his forehead pressed against her own.

Liv nodded as she smiled up at him.

And with that they were connected in the most intimate way possible.

The way they should be.

"Jesus I missed you Liv." Hugh sighed with his forehead still pressed against Liv's.

"I missed you too Honey." Said Liv as she wrapped her legs tighter around his waist, urging him to move.

He connected their lips as he started moving back and forth, setting a slow but deep rythme.

Their hips moved in sync with each other just like their lips.

This was a well rehearsed dance that they've been performing for years.

Liv's gasps and moans started to build along with Hugh's thrusts as he buried his face in her neck as he growled out incoherent words to her.

"Hugh. Faster Baby, I need it faster." Liv moaned all too loudly but they were too far gone to care.

Hugh was never one to deny her anything.

His thrusts grew more agressive as her moans and pleas for more grew louder.

They were both so close, always so in sync.

"I'm so close Baby." Liv struggled to gasp out.

Hugh only grumbled into her hair as he possessively grasped her hips to bring them as close together as humanly possible.

And then they were gone.

Falling over the brink of an ocean of pleasure.

Liv's nails scratched down Hugh's back as she screamed into his chest as he groaned loudly into her dark hair.

They barely had time to catch their breath.

Still recovering from their dive into the sea of pleasure.

And then they heard it.

Little footsteps approaching their door.

"Mommy?" Called Luke quietly as he attempted to open their door.

Thank God Hugh had the mind to lock it.

"Shit." Liv cursed as she threw her head back against the pillows as Hugh quickly disconnected himself from Liv causing her to groan at the feeling.

"One second Honey." Liv called back to Luke.

"Mom I want to come in, i'm scared." Luke said in a small voice that clearly displayed his fear.

"Just one second Baby." Liv struggled to say as her and Hugh quickly dressed.

Once she had her robe secured around herself and Hugh had at least a pair of pants on, she opened the door to find her little Luke looking up to her with his big heart melting eyes.

"What's wrong My Love? Liv asked as she scooped him up into her arms, cradling his head in her hand as he laid his head against her chest.

"I heard a noise." Luke whimpered.

Liv shot Hugh a look to find him merely shrugging his shoulders at her.

She rolled her eyes at him as she returned her attention to Luke.

"What did you hear Honey?" Liv asked trepidatiously.

"I heard someone scream! I thought you were hurt!" Luke exclaimed as he lifted his head to look up at his mother with concern.

"Honey i'm fine, no one screamed, I was just laughing cause Daddy told me joke." She explained to Luke who then looked over to his father as if to see if his mother was telling the truth.

"Yep, just a joke Pal." Hugh said to his son.

"Okay? You wanna go back to bed now?" Liv asked her son as she kissed his chubby cheek.

Luke merely nodded as he rested his head back against his mother's warm chest.

"Night Daddy." Luke waved to his father.

"Night Pal, no bad dreams alright?" Hugh asked.

"No bad dreams Dad." Luke confirmed.

Liv shot Hugh a look of relief as she carried Luke back to his and Nellie's bedroom.

* * *

Once Liv returned to their bedroom she was suppressing a laugh.

"Jesus that was close." She said with a laugh as she crawled back into bed.

"We just got carried away." Hugh said as he brushed her hair out of her face.

"If he would've just walked in like he usually does he would've been traumatized." Said Liv as she looked at Hugh who was gazing at her.

"He just turned three, he wouldn't have known what we were doing." Said Hugh.

"Still, what would we have told him we were doing?" Asked Liv.

"I have no idea." Responded Hugh.

Liv just laughed.

"We need to get to sleep Mr. Crain." Liv chuckled as she reached over to shut off the light.

"Goodnight Love." Said Hugh as he brought her hand up to leave a kiss there.

"Goodnight."


	4. Chapter 4

The silence was so loud.

It was too loud.

It was so loud she couldn't think straight. Why couldn't she think straight?

Where are the kids? Why did he take them? Where were they going? Why did they leave her here?

All alone.

He took them. He took her babies away from her. He's hurting them.

No.

Why can't she think straight?

The house was dead silent, the only sounds to be heard were the staggering breaths coming from Olivia as she limped around the house.

"He's killing them."

There she was.

She was feeding on Olivia's thoughts, feeding on her worst fears like a parasite trailing around in her brain.

"He's taking them away, away from you." Said Poppy with her sugar sweet voice that left the air around tasting sour and cold.

"No." Liv panted.

"And they're gonna hurt." She continued.

"He wouldn't." Liv chocked out.

"Oh but he would. He is. He has them and he's feeding them out into the world. And they're gonna hurt and suffer and grieve and mourn and cry and rot and cower and scream and _feel_. They're gonna feel all of it."

"Please stop." Liv whimpered, staring out of the window into the direction the car drove off with her screaming children inside.

"That's the thing about pain Liv; it demands to be felt." Said Poppy into Olivia’s war as she placed a hand on Liv's tense shoulder.

"Shut up! Stop it! He wouldn't do that, he would never hurt them." Liv spewed out with a new found anger.

"But he is. And it's dark. It's so dark and you need to wake up." Said Poppy with a smile far too large for her face.

"What?" Liv whispered.

"Well this is one horrible dream Doll and you ought to wake up some time." Explained Poppy with a shrug.

"I'm dreaming?" Liv questioned, more to herself than anyone.

"An awful big spill Liv. So you gotta wake up. You gotta wake up and see those precious angels safe and sound in their beds." Said Poppy, her smile taking on a warmth that seemed as though it could melt all the cold away.

"How? I can't wake up. I've been dreaming for days and I can't tell what's real anymore." Liv said, her voice cracking with shame.

"I can't even tell my babies apart from dreams." Continued Liv, her arms wrapping around herself like a shield.

"You gotta let me help you Love." Said Poppy.

"What do I do?" Asked Liv, her eyes trailing after Poppy's like a moth to a flame.

"You gotta wake up." She said as if it was the simplest task in the world.

"But I don't know how!" Liv cried.

"You know, people dream all the time Liv, they dream about lots of things, everything under the sun and more. But you know the one thing that no one ever dreams about?" She asked, her eyes piercing through Liv as if she knew her darkest secrets.

"What?" Liv asked in a small voice.

"Their death." Poppy said with a smile.

"No one can possibly know what death is like, those very last moments before your heart stops beating and the blood stops running. No one knows, therefore it is impossible to dream it. That's why in every dream, right before the fall, right before the bullet leaves the gun, right before the knife meets flesh; you wake up." Poppy explained with an ominous cheer, her eyes shining with an ice cold fire inside.

"And Liv, well I think it's time you wake up, you're babies need you." Poppy reasoned.

"I need to wake up." Liv spoke to herself as she slowly made her way to look over the flight of spiralling stairs.

"My babies need me." She spoke again as she stepped forward onto the ledge.

"One step Liv, that's all it takes." Poppy whispered into her ear.

"Why can't I wake up?" Liv growled out at herself.

"I want to wake up. So badly." She whimpered out.

And then she heard it.

The distinctive sound of the front door.

And then the even more distinct sound of her husbands voice.

"Olivia!"

Liv's breath grew shallow as her eyes brimmed with tears.

"No." She whimpered out.

"Liv! Liv, where are you?" Hugh called out.

Liv's shoulders shook as she cried.

This dream was too real.

Hugh rounded the corner into the library, he looked up to see Liv.

His Liv.

Standing on the edge of her death.

"Liv! Liv get down from there!" He yelled in panic.

Liv shook her head.

"I need to wake up." She cried.

"It's so dark and I need to wake up now." She explained.

"Liv no you need to get down, i'm coming up." Said Hugh as he started for the staircase.

"No!" Exclaimed Olivia.

"Stay there." Said Liv as tears flowed freely from her sorrowful eyes.

"Okay Hon, I can help you. I can help you but you gotta come down from there." Hugh said as calmly as possible, following his instructions to stay put.

"You took them." Liv whimpered.

"You took them away from me and now they're gonna die!" She wailed.

"No. Liv you're wrong, the kids are fine." Hugh tried to reason.

"No! They're alone in th- the darkness and they're s- suffering! They're suffering and _you_  put them there!" She screamed, tears running down her face.

"Liv you gotta trust me, they are safe, they're waiting for us, we can go see them now but you gotta come with me." Hugh said as he slowly started making his way up the spiralling staircase towards his wife.

"I can't go with you, I have to wake up." She said as she took a step closer to the edge.

"Liv no! Liv just look at me okay? Just listen to me, I promise you, I promise, if you come with me right now, I'll bring you to the kids and we can all be together, we'll never be apart again." Hugh explained as he made it to the top of the staircase.

"But this is just a dream." Liv giggled as she shook her head.

"No it's not, this is real, i'm real and you're real." Hugh said as he moved within reaching distance of his wife.

"No. This is a dream. This is a dream and I need to wake up. This is the only way." She said with shut eyes as she lifted one foot off the ledge, bracing herself for the jump.

"Liv no!" Hugh yelled as he lurched himself forward, just barely grabbing her forearm, pulling her frail body up over the railing, holding her trembling body against his own.

"No. No, no, no." She cried against his chest.

"You're okay, you're okay, you're okay." Hugh whispered into her hair like a mantra, not quite sure if he was trying to convince her or himself.

"But this isn't real, this is a dream and I have to wake up, I have to see the kids asleep in their beds." Liv cried cried as she dropped to her knees, into a ball on the floor in Hugh's arms.

"This is real Liv, you're just confused right now, but if you'd let me, I promise I can bring you to the kids, they're all safe and they really want to see you, they need their Mom." Hugh said as he lifted Olivia's face to look at his own.

"Wake up." Hugh said.

"What?" Liv whispered.

"Liv you have to wake up now."

"Hugh?" Liv asked.

He was gone.

Why'd he leave her?

Why would he leave her alone again?

"Olivia!"

And there he was.

Her line.

Pulling her back down from the clouds.

And all the sudden.

She was awake.

"Liv, you were dreaming."

She was cold and shaking, her hair was sticking to the skin of her neck and chest but there she was, awake in bed.

It was all a dream. 

One big huge spill.

And she was safe now, with Hugh.

"Honey I was having the most horrible dream, I thought it was real, it felt s- so real, you y- you took the kids and I was alone in the darkness and I had t- to wake up but I couldn't, but then you were there and you pulled me back down from the clouds and you told me the k- kids were safe and they were waiting for me and we were gonna go see them and then you were g-gone and I was alone in the darkness again. And it was so cold and so dark and I was so alone and so scared." She cried profusely into Hugh's chest as he held her firmly against him.

"You're awake now, i'm right here." Hugh said as he kissed her temple.

She could only nod her head, not enough trust in her voice to not break.

Hugh rubbed soothing circles on her back as her staggered breaths slowly returned to normal.

"Thank you." Liv spoke after minutes of serene silence. 

"For what?" Asked Hugh.

"For being here, keeping me grounded." Liv answered.

"That's my job Honey." He said, kissing her tear stained face.

"I love you." Said Olivia.

"So much." Answered Hugh.


	5. Chapter 5

Olivia and Hugh had been living together for five months now. Five months filled with love and laughter and everything Olivia could ever want.

Ever since witnessing what her fathers death did to her mother she always told herself she would never fall in love.

Love was just a prolonged wait for the inevitable pain that came along with it.

She was a smart girl and she knew how to protect herself from that pain.

And then she met Hugh.

The charming Hugh Crain with the crooked smile that made her heart melt a little bit more each time she saw it.

When she met Hugh it was as if all those precautions she took went out the window.

She was so sure of her love for Hugh that she felt as though she didn't need protection from anything, she knew without a doubt that Hugh would always catch her when she fell and he'd always be there to help her up again.

As long as she had him, she had nothing to be afraid of, he was always so willing to protect her from anything that came their way.

As long as she had him, she had everything.

So as she waited in the bathroom for the results on that little pink stick she felt no fear.

Maybe a little nausea but no fear.

As the timer went off she held her breath, a small part of her secretly hoping the test would come up positive.

She slowly turned over the test that was sitting upon the bathroom counter, her hands trembling with anticipation.

And there it was.

Those two little lines that would change her life forever.

Tears welled up in her eyes as she let out a sob of pure happiness.

And now all she had to do was tell Hugh.

* * *

Later that day Hugh came home from work with a bouquet of flowers and some medicine in the hopes of helping Liv feel better.

"Liv?" Hugh called out as he shut the front door.

"In here!" Liv called back from their bedroom.

As Hugh walked down the hallway and into their bedroom he was pleased to see Liv looking better. She had been feeling sick for weeks now and he had been growing worried.

"I got you these." Said Hugh with that smile that Liv loved so much. 

"Thank you Honey." Cooed Liv with a slight giggle. Ever since her and Hugh had started dating he's showered her with gifts, even if they were as simple as flowers.

"You know you don't have to do that though right?" Asked Olivia as she fetched a vase in the kitchen to place the flowers in.

"I know, but I like to." Answered Hugh simply as he followed her into the kitchen.

"They're beautiful, thank you." Said Liv as she walked up to him and placed a kiss on his cheek.

"You're welcome." Said Hugh as he took Liv into his arms.

Liv just stared up at him, a smile playing on her lips.

"What?" Asked Hugh as he started to smile as well.

"I have something to tell you." Said Liv as she placed her hands on his arms.

"What is it?" Asked Hugh, slightly worried about the unsure look on Liv's face. 

"So you how I haven't been feeling well lately?" Asked Liv.

"Yeah?" Replied Hugh, his expression growing more worried by the second, she could practically see the wheels in his brain turning.

"Well I realized a couple days ago that I haven't gotten my period yet this month." Said Olivia, looking up to see if he was putting the pieces together only finding him looking even more confused than before.

"So I went to the store and I bought a pregnancy test." Said Liv, watching as he finally put the pieces together.

"You- Are you? You're pregnant?" Hugh asked stumbling on his words, his eyes searching her face for answers.

Liv nodded, bitting her bottom lip to suppress the smile that was blossoming on her face.

"Are you serious? You're actually pregnant? You're not joking?" Hugh rambled as he cradled her face in his hands.

"I'm not jok-" Liv started to say before Hugh captured her lips in a sweet kiss.

"I love you, I love you so much." Said Hugh into her hair as she wrapped her arms around his waist, nuzzling her face into his chest.

"You're gonna be such a good dad Hugh." Liv spoke into his chest as he rubbed circles onto her back.

"I hope so." Said Hugh.

* * *

Finding out that Liv was pregnant again came as no surprise to either of them. 

They'd practically been counting down the days.

Ever since they kissed and made up from their little break that they still didn't quite know why they took, they practically couldn't keep their hands off one another.

They had to make up for lost time and from that came the second baby Crain.

Steve was two and was playing in the bath as his parents waited for the results of the little stick that was once again placed upon the bathroom counter.

It was much like the first time except now they already knew the process and now they were married.

They had tied the knot a couple months after Steve was was born.

Neither of them were religious but they thought a wedding would be a good opportunity to create memories.

"Mama." Babbled Steve as he held up his toy boat to her.

"You playing with your boat Honey?" Asked Liv as she sat upon the side of the bathtub.

Steve only nodded his head as he went back to playing.

"You want a little sibling Stevie?" Asked Hugh as he watched Liv brush a strand of feather soft hair out of little Steve's face.

Steve's head shot up upon hearing his fathers question as if he was let in on a secret.

"I'll take that as a yes." Said Liv as she looked up at Hugh.

"Ready for the results Mrs. Crain?" Asked Hugh.

"Ready as I'll ever be." Replied Liv.

Hugh walked over to the counter top and flipped over the small stick.

"Well Stevie, you can expect to have a playmate in about 8 and a half months." Said Hugh as he walked over to his now giggling wife.

"Ready for round two Mr. Crain?" Asked Liv as Hugh leaned down to kiss her.

"Oh always." Said Hugh with a smile as he sat on the other end of the bathtub watching their son play happily.

* * *

 

Hugh and Liv laid in a sweaty heap of tangled sheets and limbs as they attempted to catch their breath.

"You alive over there?" Asked Hugh breaking the silence, causing Liv to laugh.

"Oh shut up." Liv laughed as she placed a hand sarcastically over his smiling mouth.

"It was an innocent question, just wanted to make sure my wife was still breathing." Said Hugh jokingly.

"Mm very funny." Replied Liv as she placed a kiss on his forehead before reaching for her nightgown, quickly redressing incase Steve or Shirley sneaked into their bed in the middle of the night.

"Do you want another baby?" Asked Liv suddenly as Hugh adjusted his sweatpants.

"Well considering neither of us has been all too concerned with protection for the past few nights I don't think we really left ourselves with much of a choice." Informed Hugh as he lifted the covers over Liv and himself.

"Hm, I didn't think you even noticed." Hummed Liv as she gazed at Hugh who was stroking the palm of her hand softly.

"Oh so this was all your plan?" Asked Hugh with mock offence.

"Not a plan, just so happens that we're not as responsible as we once thought." Stated Liv with a shrug.

"Well I guess we'll just have to wait and see then won't we?" Asked Hugh rhetorically.

"I guess we will."

* * *

 

And they were right, three weeks later they were once again turning over that little pink stick that they've grown very familiar with.

"You think it's gonna be a boy or a girl?" Asked Liv later on as she sat on Hugh's lap as they watched Steve and Shirley run around the backyard from their place on the patio, the sun beaming down on all of them.

"Hm, I think a boy, wouldn't want Stevie and I to be outnumbered." Hugh reasoned sarcastically.

"Oh please we'd be doing you boys a favour to have more girls running the show around here." Declared Liv.

"Well I can't deny facts." Said Hugh causing Liv so smile as she kissed him.

"Mm another little girl would be good." Said Liv as she closed her eyes, basking in the warmth of Hugh's arms holding her securely and the sounds of her babies laughing.

* * *

When Liv found out she was pregnant for the fourth time it was a happy day. Theo was only three but she loved the idea of no longer being the youngest. 

"Is it gonna be a boy this time? Asked Steve, hoping he could finally have a younger brother to play with.

"Maybe Honey, we'll find out soon." Said Liv in her soothing voice as she kissed his head.

Liv had always had morning sickness with her pregnancies but not like this.

She was practically nauseous 24/7 and her mood swings had never been this bad in the past.

Maybe it was because she was getting older.

Or maybe she was just stressed because she had to juggle the kids and they were planning on moving before the baby came.

All she knew was that she was barely four months pregnant and she wanted this pregnancy to be over already.

She just wanted to meet her baby and have their family be whole.

* * *

A week later, Liv, Hugh and Theo were at a doctors appointment to find out the sex of the baby while the Steve and Shirley were at school.

Liv could tell that Theo knew she was apart of something important, she had a sly little grin on her face as if she was about to be let in on a big secret, one that was usually limited to the adults.

Theo sat on her fathers lap as the doctor placed the blue gel on Olivia's stomach.

"Is that gonna show the baby in Mommy's belly?" Asked Theo as though she already knew the answer.

"Yes it is, you're a smart girl." Said the doctor as she watched the screen, moving the ultrasound wand around to find the baby.

"Hm." The doctor hummed questionably.

"What? What's wrong?" Asked Liv, a worried expression taking over her face.

"No there's nothing wrong there just appears to be two heartbeats coming through." Said the doctor without turning away from the screen that was now showing two curled up babies.

"Two babies." Liv said as she processed this new information.

"Five kids Mr. Crain." Said Liv with a laugh as she turned her head to look at Hugh who was gazing at the screen showing their two newest family members.

"Gonna have a full house Mrs. Crain." Replied Hugh as he kissed Theos hair.

"One of them better be a boy or Steve will throw a fit." Said Theo with a less than impressed expression, her words sounding as if they should've come from someone five times her age.

"Well no need for a fit because this seems to be showing a little boy right here." Said the doctor.

"Mm." Liv hummed as her eyes filled with tears of joy.

"What about the other one?" Asked Theo.

"And this one seems to be a little girl." Said the doctor with a smile.

"Oh good, Stevie and I will still be outnumbered, I was worried there for a second." Said Hugh sarcastically as he took Liv's hand and placed a kiss there.

"You exited Theo?" Asked Liv as the doctor left the room.

"Yeah, but now i'm gonna be the middle child." Theo responded with a slightly annoyed look.

"Well that's not a bad thing, you'll be a big sister and a little sister, you get the best of both worlds." Said Hugh.

"Oh yeah." Theo said sarcastically.

"Trust me you'll love it." Hugh said as he tickled her sides causing her to squeal and Olivia to laugh.

Five months later Luke and Eleanor Crain were born and their family was finally complete.


	6. Chapter 6

It was Christmas Eve and the house was filled with Christmas lights and the smell of gingerbread cookies and pine needles.

Liv's favourite time of year was always the summer but she could never deny the feeling of complete bliss during Christmas time.

The kids nearly never fought this time of year, the thought of Santa bringing them so many presents kept them on their best behaviour.

This was going to be their first Christmas in their forever house and Liv knew it was going to be magical.

Nellie had made her yearly Christmas list of all the things that Santa was requested to bring her siblings and Hugh and Liv spent a great deal of time making sure that they had acquired every object on that list.

Hugh and Olivia had been attempting to get all the kids in bed for about an hour now with the help of Steve and Shirley, now that the two were older and were aware of the fact that Mr. Clause was not as real as they once thought, they felt as though they were let in on some big secret and felt the need to help out their parents this time of year.

Hugh and Liv had a suspicion that Theo was only pretending to still believe in ol' Saint Nick but they were not about to ask, they wanted the illusion of Santa Clause to stay alive in their household for as long as possible.

Of course the twins still believed.

Luke nearly broke down into tears every time he believed he did something wrong, fearing that Santa would be mad at him and would choose not to bring him presents.

Hugh finally got the twins to settle down and climb into their beds in their shared bedroom.

No matter how many rooms their forever house had, Luke and Nellie insisted on sharing.

"Okay, you two need to go to sleep now or Santa won't come." Hugh warned in a soft but firm tone.

"But Dad what if I _can’t_ fall asleep?" Asked Luke with a worried look on his face.

"Don't worry pal, you will." Reassured Hugh with a smile and a pat on his youngest sons head.

"Daddy what if Santa goes to the wrong house? What if he thinks we still live at Hill House or one of the old houses and he brings them there by accident?" Asked Nellie with a worried look on her face.

"I wouldn't worry about that sweetie, Santa is a pretty smart guy." Said Hugh as he kissed Nellie on the head and walked over to do the same to Luke.

"Now you two go to sleep alright?" Reminded Hugh as he shut off the light, making his way to the door.

"Okay, night Daddy." Sighed Nell.

"Goodnight." Smiled Hugh.

Hugh slowly shut their door and made his way down the hall to check on his other three children.

First up was Theo, Hugh quietly opened her bedroom door to find her sitting up in bed.

Usually Theo was out like a light by this time but even though she might be getting too old to believe in Santa, the excitement of Christmas morning still kept her up.

"You get to sleep Theo, you know the rule, if you don't get to sleep Santa won't come." Reminded Hugh.

Theo knew Santa wasn't real, if she were honest she's known he wasn't real for awhile but Christmas was always more fun when you believed, or at least when you pretended to.

"Mhm, I know." Theo grumbled as she laid down and Hugh walked over to kiss her head.

Usually Theo would protest to this display of affection but it was the night before Christmas and she couldn't bring herself to oppose.

"Night honey." Whispered Hugh as he made his way back towards the door.

"Night." Replied Theo.

Hugh shut Theo's door and made his way to Shirley's who was next.

Hugh gently knocked on the door before peeking his head in, an action that he had grown accustomed to after Olivia stated to him one night that Shirley was growing up and needed her proper space and independence.

Hugh didn't quite understand at first, Liv never said these things about Steve and he was the oldest, he figured he should just listen to her advice considering he had two more daughters that would most likely follow their older sisters footsteps.

Hugh opened the door to see Shirley fast asleep, the excitement of the day had finally gotten to her.

Hugh shut the door as quietly as possible and then crossed the hall to Steve's room. 

Hugh opened the door to his eldest child's room to see he was also asleep, tired from helping his parents wrangle his siblings all day.

Once Hugh had made his rounds of checking on the kids and making sure all the doors were locked he finally made his way to his own bedroom where he found his wife tying her robe around her waist.

"Everyone asleep?" Asked Liv as Hugh walked up behind her and placed his hands on her waist.

"Steve and Shirl were out like a light and Theo was halfway there herself. The twins were worried that they wouldn't be able to fall asleep and that Santa would bring the presents to the wrong house." Explained Hugh with a sigh.

"Oh and Theo let me kiss her on the head tonight." Said Hugh with a smug grin.

"What? She did?" Asked Liv incredulously as she spun around to face him.

"She never let's me do that." Said Liv with a pout.

"I guess she just has a favourite." Sighed Hugh with a sarcastic shrug.

"Oh shut up." Giggled Liv.

Hugh leaned down to kiss her forehead.

"Should we get going then?" Asked Liv.

"Now or never." Replied Hugh.

Hugh and Liv made their way downstairs to the living room where the Christmas tree was standing in the corner waiting to be surrounded by presents.

"I'll go get the presents from the closet." Announced Hugh. 

"Okay honey, i'll be right there." Said Liv with a smile as she gazed up at the tall tree that the children had decorated.

A few minutes later Hugh and Liv returned to the living room with their arms full of bags holding the presents.

They spent the next half hour rearranging the presents and then rearranging them once again to Liv's content.

"They're perfect." Liv stated with a proud smile.

"Finally." Mumbled Hugh under his breath, earning a playful slap to his chest.

"Ha ha very funny. Go make sure the cookies are eaten, they left them on the dining room table." Said Liv as she jokingly pushed Hugh away into the direction of the dining room.

"My favourite part." Said Hugh as he followed Liv's instructions.

A few minutes later once the cookies were gone, Hugh returned to the living room to find that Liv had fallen asleep on the couch.

He slowly crouched down before her and kissed her forehead.

"Honey." He called lightly, stroking the side of her face.

Liv's eyebrows scrunched together at the sound of her name but she didn't wake.

"Liv, i'm gonna take you upstairs okay?" Hugh asked as he brought Liv to cradle against his chest like he did with the kids when they would fall asleep somewhere other than their rooms.

"Okay." Liv mumbled in her sleep induced state.

Hugh started up the stairs with Liv in his arms, he could feel her warm breaths puffing out against his neck causing him to shiver and hold her tighter.

"Are we going to sleep?" Asked Liv; still not quite awake.

"Yes honey." Hugh answered with a laugh at his wife's dazed voice.

"Good." Mumbled Liv simply.

Hugh walked them both into their room and made his way towards their bed.

He placed Liv down on her side of the bed, her head turning to the side as she made a mewl of discontent.

"You want your robe off?" Asked Hugh in a whisper.

Liv nodded her head, her eyes barely opening as Hugh began to untie the knot at the front of her waist.

"Are all the kids asleep?" Asked Liv.

"I would assume so, wouldn't want to risk Santa not coming. Sit up for me." Requested Hugh as he helped Liv sit up so he could remove her arms from the sleeves of the robe. 

"Thank you." Said Liv once the robe was discarded.

"You're welcome." Answered Hugh as he walked around to the other side of the bed and crawled in next to his wife.

"Night Liv, Merry Christmas." Said Hugh, turning his head to see that Liv was already fast asleep.

* * *

Hugh and Olivia awoke to the feeling of little feet walking all over them.

"Mommy, Daddy! You have to wake up, Santa came last night and left us presents!" Nellie exclaimed in a hushed voice.

"Did he?" Asked Hugh rhetorically with his eyes still shut.

"Yeah Dad, we have to go downstairs!" Called Luke as he touched his fathers face trying to wake him up.

"What time is it?" Asked Hugh.

"Five a.m." Responded Liv in a monotone voice.

"Great." Said Hugh as he sat up, pulling Luke and Nell into his arms.

"Are the others awake?" Asked Liv.

"Uh I don't know." Answered Nell.

"Okay, how about you go tell Stevie, Shirl and Theo that Santa came and then we'll all go downstairs." Suggested Olivia.

"Okay!" Exclaimed the twins in unison as they jumped off their parents bed and ran out of the room.

"Mmm, you ready?" Hummed Olivia as she rolled over to pull herself against Hugh.

"Yes Ma'am." Replied Hugh as he kissed Liv's head and sat up to head downstairs.

Thirty seconds after Hugh and Olivia arrived downstairs, the sounds of their small heard of children came booming down the stairs.

"Santa came and he left so many presents!" Exclaimed Nell.

"How do you know? Did you peak?" Prodded Shirley.

"You're not aloud to peak." Said Theo in a monotone voice, attempting to mask her excitement.

"We didn't peak!" Said Luke.

"Okay, okay, everyone calm down, no one peaked." Said Liv as everyone rounded the corner into the living room to see the big tree surrounded by gifts.

"Look at all the presents Mommy!" Exclaimed Nellie as she began to jump up and down, a smile lighting up her entire face.

"I know honey, I see. Okay, everyone sit down and I'll pass out the presents." Explained Olivia.

"Can I pass out the gifts this year Mum?" Asked Luke, looking up at his mother with wide eyes.

"Sure honey, always Mommy's little helper." Said Liv as she leaned down to kiss Luke's forehead.

Liv walked over to Hugh who pulled her down to sit on his lap on the love seat, causing her to giggle.

"Okay Luke, you can give everyone a present to open." Instructed Liv after everyone had calmed down a bit.

Luke walked over to the tree, kneeling down to gather a large box into his tiny arms.

"Okay, this one is for uhh... Steve!" Said Luke as he read the name tag and attempted to carry the wrapped box over to Steve who was sitting on the floor next to Theo who made sure to put a significant amount of space in between herself and her older brother.

"It's kinda heavy." Said Luke as he struggled to hold up the box.

"I got it, thanks my man." Thanked Steve as he helped Luke place the box safely on the floor where Steve was sitting.

Luke walked back over to the tree to retrieve the next gift.

"And this one is for... Shirl." Announced Luke walking over to Shirley who was sitting with Nellie on the couch, a fluffy blanket draped over them as they patiently waited for Luke to deliver their presents.

"Okay now I need one for Nell and Theo." Said Luke quizzically as he went back to the tree to dig for more presents.

After a few seconds of searching Luke had delivered the gifts to his sisters.

"Okay done." Huffed out Luke as he went to sit down next to Steve.

"Pal I think you forgot one." Said Hugh from his place on the love seat.

"Who's?" Asked Luke.

"Your's silly." Answered Liv with bright smile.

"Oops!" Exclaimed Luke as he jumped up from his place on the floor to quickly run over to the Christmas tree and find a gift for himself.

"Okay now everyone can open them." Said Liv as she smiled in anticipation.

First to open their gift was Steve.

Once he ripped through the wrapping paper decorated in tiny snowmen and candy canes, he ripped open the box to find mountains of bubble wrap which Luke quickly started popping.

"What is it?" Asked Theo as she crawled a bit closer to her brother to see what he was gazing at.

"It's a typewriter!" Exclaimed Steve with a smile on his face as he pulled the writing device out of the box to show his family.

"Mommy! Santa got my letter! I told Santa that Steve wanted a typewriter and he listened!" Exclaimed Nellie with wide eyes as she hopped off the couch and ran over to her parents to hug them out of pure excitement.

"I know honey, I told you your letters would be safe in your puffalopes." Whispered Liv as she embraced her daughter and kissed her chubby cheek.

"Okay Shirley's turn." Said Steve as he continued to stare in awe at his typewriter.

Shirley smiled as she began to open her present, Nellie had returned to her spot next to her big sister and was just as excited as she was.

"Oh my god! It's a new camera! It's the exact one I wanted." Said Shirley as she showed her parents.

"Well thank Nellie, she made sure you'd get it." Said Hugh as he winked at Shirley, knowing that Shirley was fully aware that Hugh and Olivia had bought it a couple weeks ago.

"Thank you Nell." Said Shirley as she placed the camera back in the box so it wouldn't brake.

"You're welcome. Theo's turn!" Exclaimed Nellie with a smile on her face as she looked expectantly at Theo.

Theo attempted to mask her excitement as she calmly ripped the wrapping paper off the present to reveal the next book she was wanting to read.

"It's the book I wanted." Mumbled Theo with a small but evident smile, she brushed her gloved fingers over the front as she admired the cover.

"What one is it?" Asked Shirley.

"'We Have Always Lived In The Castle' by Shirley Jackson." Said Theo with a growing smile as she set the book down beside herself.

"She has the same name as you Shirl." Said Nellie with a smile as she gazed up at her big sister.

"She does." Affirmed Shirley.

"Okay Nellie's turn!" Said Luke excitedly.

"Uh just wait, uh I think your mother and I have a present for all of you that I think you'd like to see now." Said Hugh as he and Olivia began to stand up.

"What is it?" Asked Steve with a puzzled look on his face at his parents secretive behavior.

"Well lets go find out why don't we?" Asked Olivia as she took the twins hands and started walking towards the garage, the three others shooting each other a look to see if any of them were let in on the secret present.

"Well come on slow pokes, don't you wanna see what it is?" Asked Hugh as he followed after Liv.

The three of them jumped up and ran towards their father.

"Okay are you ready?" Asked Olivia as she placed her hand on the doorknob.

"Yes!" They all said in unison.

"Okay, okay." Laughed Liv as she pushed open the door.

All the children ran into the garage to see a large crate sitting in the middle of the garage.

Hugh walked over to the crate and knelt down to open it to reveal a small puppy running out to greet all the Crains as it jumped up to lick them all.

"You got us a puppy?!" Exclaimed Shirley as she sat down to hold the puppy in her lap.

"Well Santa did, but you all have to take care of him okay? That means no fighting about it, you all have to work together." Explained Olivia as she smiled at Shirley who held the puppy in her lap.

"I love him!" Cried Luke as the puppy started licking his face.

"I'm glad honey." Laughed Olivia as Hugh walked over and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"What should we name him?" Asked Theo as Shirley let her take the puppy into her arms.

"Jackson! Like from your book Theo!" Said Nellie.

"Yeah!" Agreed Luke.

"Is that good?" Theo asked her parents. 

"That's perfect honey." Said Liv as she smiled down at all her children who were gushing over their newest family member.

"Good call on the puppy Mr. Crain." Whispered Olivia.

"Well it's about time I think, now that we're all settled in and there'll be no more moving anymore." Said Hugh as he leaned down to kiss Olivia.

"This was a good first Christmas here Honey." Hummed Olivia as she rested her head on his chest as she watched their laughing children. 

"Yes it was. The first of many My Love." Replied Hugh.


	7. Chapter 7

It was the week before Nellies wedding and everyone was finally arriving at "The forever house" as Hugh and Liv still liked to call it, to have a family dinner.

Shirley; never one to be late, had gotten there first. The kids were always ecstatic when they got to spend time with their grandparents. Hugh and Olivia had always seemed to be so much cooler to them than their parents could ever be.

Their car pulled into the long paved driveway that was still covered in chalk from their last visit, surrounded by the front yard that displayed the large garden of plants, flowers and berries. Large towering willow trees were littered around the house, seeming to stand before the house as protection, daring any unwelcome guests to step foot on the property.

The kids jumped out of the car and began running towards the large double front doors.

"Hey, no running! I don't want anyone falling and getting hurt!" Exclaimed Shirley who was helping Kevin gather a few things from the car.

"We won't!" Called the kids in unison as they reached the front door, ringing the doorbell and proceeding to walk in without waiting for an answer.

"Grandma!?" Called Jayden.

"Hello my loves." Cooed Liv as she rounded the corner into the front entrance of the house to greet her grandchildren with a big hug and a kiss to each of their heads as she cradled their cheeks softly in her loving hands.

"Are you two as excited for the wedding as I am?" Asked Liv as she crouched down to be level with Ally as she was only four.

"Yes! Mommy brought my dress to show Auntie Nell." Said Ally with a proud smile as she gazed up at her grandmother.

"Oh you're gonna be the sweetest flower girl to ever exist." Whispered Liv as she trailed her fingers through her granddaughters dark hair.

"Hi Mom." Said Shirley as she walked into her childhood home, followed by Kevin.

"Hello my darling." Sighed Liv with a glowing smile as she walked towards her eldest daughter, embracing her and then Kevin.

"Where's Dad?" Asked Shirley as they all walked into the kitchen and Shirley started placing things in the fridge.

"He's out back, fixing up some window, he'll be in, in a second." Informed Liv who went to tend to whatever she was cooking in the oven.

"Jesus Mom how much food did you make?" Asked Shirley as she looked around the kitchen to see food cooking in the oven, on the stove and the food that was being stored in the fridge.

"Well the whole family is gonna be here, and we've got two growing monkeys to feed." Said Liv as she winked at the kids who were sitting at the kitchen table, causing them to giggle.

"Leave it up to your mother to make enough food to feed an army." Chuckled Hugh as he walked through the patio door that led to the large backyard.

"Hi Grandpa!" Exclaimed the kids in unison as Ally jumped out of her seat to run up to her grandfather, jumping into his arms. 

"Ally go easy." Warned Shirley who walked over to stand next to Kevin.

"Oh I'm not that old." Humoured Hugh with mock offense as he held his granddaughter in his arms.

Shirley shook her head and smiled.

"Where's Theo? Did she not come with you guys?" Asked Hugh as he sat down with the kids at the table.

"She was supposed to but she got held up at work, she said she'll be here soon." Answered Shirley to which her father nodded his head. 

A few minutes passed in casual conversation about the wedding until they heard the front doors opening.

"Hello?" Called Luke as he walked inside.

"In here honey!" Called Liv as the kids jumped out of their seats waiting for Luke to walk into the kitchen, pouncing on him as Luke pretended to fight them off as he fell to his knees.

"Oh no! Please! Help! Shirley help!" Wailed Luke sarcastically.

"Ally and Jayden get off of him." Warned Shirley as she smiled down at her brother and kids, her eyes gleaming with happiness at seeing them so close.

"Jeez what a welcome." Sighed Luke as he stood up and ran a hand through his hair, walking over to embrace his mother, father and then Shirley and Kevin.

The family continued on in casual conversation about the excitement surrounding Nellies wedding until they heard the tell tale signs of Steve and Theos presence as the two walked through the front door bickering as usual.

"I'm right Steve just let it go already." Said an exasperated Theo as she entered the kitchen to stand next to Shirley.

"No you're not! We were living in Maine not New Hampshire!" Said Steve as he quickly pulled out a seat for his heavily pregnant wife before settling into a seat next to his father.

"So what is this argument about exactly?" Asked a bemused Olivia who was all too used to these pointless banters between her three eldest children.

"Steve is idiotically trying to convince me that it was the house in Maine that flooded when we all know that it was the house in New Hampshire." Said Theo.

"Who cares?" Asked Shirley rhetorically.

"Dad please just tell her i'm right so we can move on with our lives." Said Steve as he leaned back in his seat. 

"Well actually Steve, I believe your sister is right." Said Hugh as his eyebrows furrowed together in concentration.

"Yes it was the house in New Hampshire because i remember repairing that damn front door far too many times." Said Hugh with a displeased expression on his face as he relived the memory.

"Language." Commented Shirley as she eyed her father.

"Oops, sorry." Said Hugh as he pretended to be scared of his eldest daughters scolding gaze, causing Ally to laugh.

"So when are the bride and groom supposed to arrive?" Asked Steve changing the subject as he shot Theo an annoyed look at which she smiled with mock sweetness.

"Soon I would think, I was just talking to Nell earlier, my goodness she's so excited." Said Liv as she turned to smile at her family.

"Still can't believe she's getting married." Said Steve; a smile pulling on the corners of his mouth.

"Me either." Chuckled Luke shaking his head.

"Well you better start to believe it, considering you're in the wedding and all." Commented Theo sarcastically.

Once Nelli arrived to her childhood home with Arthur trailing behind her with a smile stretching from ear to ear, the family finally sat down to eat. Steve and Shirley helped Olivia set the table because it seemed no matter how old they got, the children of the Crain family never forgot their distinct roles amongst themselves.

Olivia and Hugh took their rightful places at the heads of the long rectangular dining table that sat beneath a glowing chandelier.

Everyone else circled around to find a seat.

Nelli and Arthur sat to the right of Hugh who seemingly hadn't stopped smiling since the first members of his family had arrived that evening.

Next to Arthur and Nell sat Luke who was taking to Steve and Leigh who sat beside him about Leigh's pregnancy.

On the opposite side of the table sat Shirley who was sitting next to her mom who was taking her ear off about how big the kids were getting.

"Mom, you saw them two days ago." Reminded Shirley with a smile as she gazed down at her daughter sitting next to her who was laughing at something her uncle Luke had said.

"I know but still! It seems like just yesterday you were the one who was pregnant honey." Said Liv nostalgically as she gazed at Leigh's pregnant belly; unable to contain her vibrant joy at the thought of adding another grand baby to the family.

Next to Shirley and Ally sat Kevin, Jayden and Theo who was now talking to her dad about the kids she saw that day at work.

The entire family continued to laugh and talk and occasionally bicker in Crain fashion as the night carried on, Nell gushing every few minutes about how excited she was at the thought of finally being married to the love of her life.

The excitement in her voice that came along with these confessions brought tears to nearly everyone's eyes, even Hugh although he'd rather not admit it out loud but Liv would never miss the way he kept pretending to look at the clock or the excessive blinking. She knew her husband better than he knew himself and she knew the thought of their baby girl getting married was weighing on both of their minds in the best way possible. They knew Nelli would be happy.

She already was.

It was in these precious moments that Liv knew that she and Hugh had done well.

She knew that they had raised their children right and that their children would carry that on to their own children.

It was in these moments as Olivia gazed around the table that her own children used to eat at three times a day, looking at all the smiling faces that brought so much light to her life that she knew she had done something truly remarkable.

She knew then that they would be okay.

They would always be okay as long as they had each other.


	8. Chapter 8

It had been a tough realization for all of them.

After that night they had promised to never leave each other.

And now one was leaving.

It wasn't Steve's fault of course.

He had to get away, broaden his life choices, he wanted to become a writer.

So he made up his mind and applied to as many schools as far away as possible.

It wasn't that he wanted to leave his siblings. No it wasn't that.

He wanted to leave the memories.

Those God forsaken memories that he could never seem to get out of his head every time he looked at his siblings.

Every time Shirley emerged from her room with dark circles under her tired eyes from yet another sleepless night watching over Nelli to make sure she has nothing but pleasant dreams.

Every time Theo flinched away from her siblings touch and tugged her gloves further up her arms.

Every time Luke asked him when Dad was finally going to come pick them up and bring them all home to see Mom who he missed so much.

Every time Nelli came to him crying because no matter how hard she tried she couldn't forget the screams of her own memories.

No, he didn't want to leave his siblings.

He needed to.

So he packed his bags before he even got his acceptance letter.

He knew Shirley resented him for leaving. Not because she thought he shouldn't.

But because she couldn't. Not yet at least.

Because now she would be left alone to comfort their siblings when they couldn't stop crying or when they couldn't understand why Mom and Dad won't come get them.

She would be left to attempt to explain to them why their big brother who was supposed to protect them left just like their parents.

And then there was Theo. She understood.

She understood the need to get away from the never ending funeral that was their life.

She understood the need to make the memories go away.

Even just for a little while.

It made it easier to breathe. 

And then there were the twins.

Loss was basically second nature to them at this point.

They had experienced more pain than anyone their age ever should.

Luke couldn't understand it. Didn't want to understand it.

They promised. All of them.

After their parents left they promised that they would stick together. Always.

And now the oldest was willingly going away.

No. Luke didn't want to understand it.

Nelli begged him to stay. Told him they were safer together.

She knew her begging was pointless, Steve had made up his mind a long time ago.

So Steve packed his bags into his car as his siblings stood there waiting for the inevitable goodbye that they knew was coming.

Steve watched his siblings stand there as they did what seemed like lifetimes ago as they bid their mother farewell for the last time.

Only this time he was the one leaving.

He never thought he would be the one causing those lifeless looks on his siblings faces.

There was a knot in his chest as he gave them a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

His heart was screaming at him to stay but his brain told him go.

He needed to go.

If he didn't leave now he would never leave.

And he needed to get away. 

Get away from all the ghosts that he saw when he looked at his siblings.

Yes. He was making the right decision. 

He needed to get away.


End file.
